Semiconductor integrated circuit device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors includes, at a cell row end, a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of a circuit block. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of fins extending in an X direction. Ends of the plurality of fins on the inner side of the circuit block are near a gate structure placed at a cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view, and ends of the plurality of fins on an outer side of the circuit block overlap with any one of a gate structure in a plan view.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/235,603, filed on Apr. 20, 2021, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/881,255, filed on May 22, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,011,546, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/228,319, filed on Dec. 20, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,700,095, which is a Continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2017/022878 filed on Jun. 21, 2017, which in turn claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-131372 filed on Jul. 1, 2016. The entire disclosures of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells (hereinafter, simply referred to as “cells” as appropriate) including fin structure transistors or nanowire field effect transistors (FETs).

A standard cell system is known as a method for forming a semiconductor integrated circuit on a semiconductor substrate. The standard cell system refers to a system in which an LSI chip is designed by preparing a basic unit having a specific logical function (an inverter, a latch, a flip-flop, a full adder, or any other component, for example) as a standard cell in advance, arranging a plurality of standard cells on a semiconductor substrate, and connecting the standard cells together through an interconnect.

In recent years, in the field of semiconductor devices, use of fin structure transistors (hereinafter, referred to as fin transistors) has been developed. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an outline of a fin transistor. Unlike two-dimensional structure metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, a source and a drain of a fin transistor have a bulging three-dimensional structure called a fin. A gate is placed to surround this fin. This fin structure causes a channel region to be formed by three faces of the fin and thus allows channel controllability to be much higher than ever before. Consequently, effects such as a reduction in leakage power, improvement in on-state current, and a reduction in operating voltage are obtained, and the performance of the semiconductor integrated circuit improves. Attention is also being given to nanowire FETs as one of the three-dimensional structure transistors.

United States Patent Publication No. 2014/0167815 (FIG. 4) discloses a configuration of a filler cell used for filling the gap between each adjacent pair of cells. This filler cell has a fin structure having two ends that each terminate between an associated pair of gates.

SUMMARY

The characteristics of fin transistors are influenced by the distance to an adjacent transistor more strongly than those of two-dimensional structure MOS transistors. Current characteristics fluctuate by OD-spacing-effect (OSE) corresponding to the distance to another fin or changes in physical stress, for example. A fin bulges from a substrate surface, and its capacitance characteristics also fluctuate in accordance with the distance to another fin. In other words, fin transistors change in current characteristics and capacitance characteristics according to the distance to the adjacent transistor.

In a standard cell system, relative to a standard cell, the configuration of an adjacent standard cell varies. Consequently, a fin transistor placed near a cell end variously changes in distance to an adjacent fin according to the configuration of the adjacent standard cell, for example. A standard cell placed at a cell row end of a circuit block can exceedingly increase in the distance to the adjacent fin, for example. Thus, when the characteristics of fin transistors significantly change according to the arrangement of cells, a certain margin needs to be given to current and capacitance with this change taken into account in advance. This need may lead to a reduction in the performance of a semiconductor integrated circuit and an increase in cost, which is unfavorable.

It is an object of the present disclosure to stabilize transistor characteristics while reducing process-induced variations at cell row ends of a circuit block in a semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors or nanowire FETs.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a circuit block having a plurality of cell rows each having a plurality of cells arranged in a first direction, the cell rows being arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. In the circuit block, at least one of the cell rows includes, at at least one end thereof, a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of the circuit block, the cell-row-terminating cell includes: a plurality of fins extending in the first direction; and a plurality of gate structures extending in the second direction and including a first gate structure placed at a cell end on an inner side of the circuit block, and ends of the plurality of fins on the inner side of the circuit block do not overlap with the first gate structure in a plan view, and ends of the plurality of fins on an outer side of the circuit block overlap with any one of the gate structures other than the first gate structure in a plan view.

According to this aspect, in the circuit block of the semiconductor integrated circuit device, an end portion of the cell row includes the cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to the logical function of the circuit block. The presence of this cell-row-terminating cell can stabilize transistor characteristics near the cell row end. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of fins extending in the first direction, and the end of each fin on the inner side of the circuit block is near the gate structure placed at a cell end and does not overlap with this gate structure in a plan view. With this configuration, the cell-row-terminating cell can be placed adjacent to the next cell without having excessive space relative thereto, and the area of the circuit block can thus be reduced to a lower degree. In addition, the characteristics of fin transistors of the next cell can be stabilized. The end of each fin of the cell-row-terminating cell on the outer side of the circuit block overlaps with a gate structure other than the first gate structure in a plan view, i.e., under the gate structure. With this configuration, process-induced variations in fin shape can be reduced. Consequently, transistor characteristics can be stabilized while process-induced variations at the cell row end of the circuit block are reduced.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising a circuit block having a plurality of cell rows each having a plurality of cells arranged in a first direction, the cell rows being arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The circuit block includes a rectangular area including a plurality of cell rows each having a first end and a second end, the first ends of the cell rows in the first direction being aligned, the second ends of the cell rows in the first direction being aligned, a plurality of cell-row-terminating cells that do not contribute to a logical function of the circuit block are each disposed in one end of an associated one of the cell rows included in the rectangular area, the cell-row-terminating cells each include: a plurality of nanowires extending in the first direction; a plurality of pads connected to the nanowires; and a plurality of gate structures extending in the second direction and including a first gate structure placed at a cell end on an inner side of the circuit block, and ends of the plurality of pads on the inner side of the circuit block do not overlap with the first gate structure in a plan view, and the cell-row-terminating cells include a plurality of kinds of cells having different cell widths, the cell widths corresponding to a cell dimension in the first direction.

In this aspect, in the circuit block of the semiconductor integrated circuit device, a cell row end includes the cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to the logical function of the circuit block. The presence of this cell-row-terminating cell can stabilize transistor characteristics near the cell row end. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of nanowires extending in the first direction and a plurality of pads connected to the nanowires. The ends of the pads on the inner side of the circuit block are near the gate structure placed at the cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view. With this configuration, the cell-row-terminating cell can be placed adjacent to the next cell without having excessive space relative thereto, and the area of the circuit block can thus be reduced. The cell-row-terminating cells include a plurality of kinds of cells having different cell widths, and the position of a boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell and the adjacent cell shifts in the first direction. With this configuration, in a manufacturing process, narrow portions with no nanowire that are continuously arranged in the second direction at the boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell and the next cell can be substantially prevented from being excessively long. Consequently, process-induced variations in nanowire FETs can be reduced.

The present disclosure can stabilize transistor characteristics while reducing process-induced variations at cell row ends of a circuit block in a semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors or nanowire FETs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a layout example of a circuit block of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1 according to a first embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a configuration example of a cell-row-terminating cell of the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a plan view of a layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell; and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are plan views of other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a configuration example of a cell-row-terminating cell of the second embodiment. FIG. 6A is a plan view of a layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell; and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views of other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell of the second embodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are plan views of other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a general configuration of a fin structure transistor.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a basic structure of a nanowire FET.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a basic structure of another nanowire FET.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

In a first embodiment, a semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a plurality of standard cells, in which at least some of the standard cells include fin transistors.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a layout example of a circuit block of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to an embodiment. In this circuit block 1 in FIG. 1 , a plurality of cells C arranged in an X direction (the lateral direction in the drawing corresponding to a first direction) form a cell row CR. A plurality of cell rows CR are arranged in a Y direction (the longitudinal direction in the drawing corresponding to a second direction). FIG. 1 illustrates only the cell frame of each of the cells C and does not illustrate internal components such as gates and fins.

In the layout in FIG. 1 , the circuit block 1 has a rectangular outer shape, and the cell rows CR have two ends in the X direction. First ends of the cell rows CR are aligned while second ends of the cell rows CR are also aligned. Both end portions of each of the cell rows CR include cell-row-terminating cells (also referred to as End Cap cells) CE, respectively. In FIG. 1 , the cell-row-terminating cells CE are hatched. In this example, the “cell-row-terminating cells” refer to cells that do not contribute to a logical function of the circuit block 1 and are used to terminate the associated cell rows CR. Arranging the cell-row-terminating cells CE can sufficiently widen a well region of the cell row CR in the X direction. With this configuration, transistors of cells contributing to the logical function and located inside the cell-row-terminating cells CE are kept away from a well end, and fluctuations in transistor characteristics near the well end can be reduced.

In the layout in FIG. 1 , the cell-row-terminating cells CE include first cell-row-terminating cells CEa and second cell-row-terminating cells CEb. The first and second cell-row-terminating cells CEa and CEb have different cell widths (i.e., a dimension in the X direction). The circuit block 1 may include some cells that do not contribute to the logical function of the circuit block 1 such as a filler cell other than the cell-row-terminating cells CE.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion W of FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates fins 10 and gate structures including gates 20 and dummy gates 25 in addition to cell frames (indicated by the broken line). However, other components such as a metal interconnect is not illustrated. In this example, the “dummy gate” refers to a gate that is not formed on the fins 10 and does not form a fin transistor. In FIG. 2 , the fins 10 are hatched to allow the reader to find the fins easily (the same for FIGS. 3A to 4B, and 8A and 8B). C1 to C7 are cells that contribute to the logical function of the circuit block 1. A cell row on the upper side of the drawing includes the cells C1 and C2, and a first cell-row-terminating cell CEa disposed at its end on the right side of the drawing. A cell row at the center of the drawing includes the cells C3 and C4, and a second cell-row-terminating cell CEb disposed at its end on the right side of the drawing. A cell row on the lower side of the drawing includes the cells C5 to C7, and a first cell-row-terminating cell CEa disposed at its end on the right side of the drawing.

In FIG. 2 , the fins 10 are arranged to extend in the X direction, whereas the gates 20 and the dummy gates 25 are arranged to extend in the Y direction. The fins 10 and the gates 20 formed on the fins 10 form fin transistors. In each of the cell rows, AP denotes a P-type transistor area, whereas AN denotes an N-type transistor area. An upper portion of each of the first and third cell rows from the top is the P-type transistor area AP, whereas a lower portion thereof is the N-type transistor area AN. A lower portion of the second cell row from the top is the P-type transistor area AP, whereas an upper portion thereof is the N-type transistor area AN. In each of the P-type transistor area AP and the N-type transistor area AN, sets of four of the fins 10 are obtained, and the four fins 10 are arranged side by side. The dummy gates 25 are arranged at cell ends. The gate structures including the gates 20 and the dummy gates 25 are arranged at a uniform pitch P. The cell width of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa is P×3, whereas the cell width of the second cell-row-terminating cell CEb is P×4.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a configuration example of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. FIG. 3A is a plan view of a layout configuration thereof; and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIb-IIIb shown in FIG. 3A. CF denotes a cell frame. The P-type transistor area AP is formed with four fins 11 a, whereas the N-type transistor area AN is formed with four fins 11 b. Within the cell, two gate structures 20 a and 20 b are formed, and gate structures 25 a and 25 b as dummy gates are respectively formed at both cell ends in the X direction.

Here, ends 101 of the fins 11 a on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas ends 102 thereof on the right side of the drawing are located under the gate structure 20 b. In other words, the ends 101 are near the gate structure 25 a and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view, whereas the ends 102 overlap with the gate structure 20 b in a plan view. Similarly, ends 103 of the fins 11 b on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas ends 104 thereof on the right side of the drawing are located under the gate structure 20 b. In other words, the ends 103 are near the gate structure 25 a and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view, whereas the ends 104 overlap with the gate structure 20 b in a plan view. The first cell-row-terminating cell CEa is placed at the end of the cell row CR on the right side of the drawing as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the left side of the drawing corresponds to an inner side of the circuit block 1, whereas the right side of the drawing corresponds to an outer side of the circuit block 1.

The second cell-row-terminating cell CEb has a larger cell width by one pitch P between the gate structures than the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. However, its basic configuration is similar to that in FIG. 3 .

Referring back to FIG. 2 , in the cell row on the upper side of the drawing, the cell C2 is adjacent to the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa on the left side of the drawing. The cell C2 includes a plurality of (four in this example) fins 15 a extending in the X direction in the P-type transistor area AP. The fins 15 a face the respective fins 11 a of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. The distances D1 between the fins 15 a and the facing fins 11 a are equal. The cell C2 includes a plurality of (four in this example) fins 15 b extending in the X direction in the N-type transistor area AN. The fins 15 b face the respective fins 11 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. The distances D1 between the fins 15 b and the facing fins 11 b are equal. The same applies to the relation between the cell C4 and the second cell-row-terminating cell CEb in the cell row at the center of the drawing and the relation between the cell C7 and the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa in the cell row on the lower side of the drawing.

The positional relation between a fin end and a gate structure will be additionally described.

The pattern of the terminal position of the fin end is broadly divided into two kinds, i.e., the pattern 1) in which the fin end is terminated in front of the gate structure and the pattern 2) in which the fin end is terminated under the gate structure. In the layout in FIG. 2 , most of the fin ends fall under the pattern 1). That is, most of the fin ends terminate in front of the gate structure and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view. However, an end of each of the cell-row-terminating cells CEa and CEb on the outer side of the circuit block (the right side of the drawing) falls under the pattern 2). That is, the end terminates under the gate structure.

In the pattern 1), only one gate is interposed between each adjacent pair of fin ends, and the distance therebetween is a minute distance shorter than the gate pitch. Consequently, when the pattern 1) is employed, the area of the circuit block can be reduced, and the fins of the adjacent pair of the cells face each other with the same minute distance therebetween, thus improving the accuracy of predicting transistor characteristics. In contrast, in the pattern 2), the distance between fin ends is the gate pitch or an integer multiple of the gate pitch, which is relatively large. Consequently, when the pattern 2) is employed, the reduction in the area of the circuit block is hindered, and the fin-to-fin distance may be uncertain between adjacent cells. This makes it difficult to predict transistor characteristics.

In a manufacturing process, after the fins are first formed on the entire circuit block, unnecessary portions of the fins are removed using a mask. In this process, the distance between fin ends that terminate in the pattern 2) is large, and the portions of the fins can thus be removed with high precision. In contrast, the distance between fin ends that terminate in the pattern 1) is narrow, and the portions of the fins are removed with low precision, resulting in large variations. In other words, the process-induced variations are likely to occur in fin shape.

With this being the case, using the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 can provide the following effects. Specifically, the ends 101 of the fins 11 a and the ends 103 of the fins 11 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa on the inner side of the circuit block 1 are near the gate structure 25 a placed at a cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view. With this configuration, the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa can be placed adjacent to the next cell C2 without having excessive space relative thereto, and the area of the circuit block 1 can thus be reduced to a lower degree. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , in the next cell C2, the fins 15 a face the fins 11 a of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa, respectively, whereas the fins 15 b face the fins 11 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa, respectively. With this configuration, the characteristics of the fin transistors of the cell C2 are stabilized. The ends 102 of the fins 11 a and the ends 104 of the fins 11 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa on the outer side of the circuit block 1 overlap with the gate structure 20 b in a plan view. With this configuration, process-induced variations in fin shape can be reduced. Similar effects can be obtained by the second cell-row-terminating cell CEb.

FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B illustrate the layout example of the cell-row-terminating cell placed at the end of the cell row CR on the right side of the drawing. The cell-row-terminating cell placed at the end of the cell row CR on the left side of each of the drawings is a mirror image of the cell-row-terminating cell placed at the end of the cell row on the right side of the drawing, for example.

FIGS. 4A to 4B illustrate other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell and illustrate the configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell placed at the end of the cell row CR on the left side of the drawing. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, the left side of each of the drawings corresponds to the outer side of the circuit block 1, whereas the right side of the drawing corresponds to the inner side of the circuit block 1.

The configuration in FIG. 4A corresponds to a mirror image of the configuration in FIG. 3A. In other words, the P-type transistor area AP includes the four fins 11 a, whereas the N-type transistor area AN includes the four fins 11 b. Within the cell, the two gate structures 20 a and 20 b are formed, and the gate structures 25 a and 25 b are formed at both cell ends in the X direction, respectively. The ends of the fins 11 a and 11 b on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas the ends on the left side of the drawing are located under the gate structure 20 b.

The configuration in FIG. 4B is obtained by increasing the cell width of the configuration in FIG. 4A by one pitch P between the gate structures. In other words, the P-type transistor area AP includes four fins 12 a, whereas the N-type transistor area AN includes four fins 12 b. Within the cell, three gate structures 21 a, 21 b, and 21 c are formed, and gate structures 26 a and 26 b are formed at both cell ends in the X direction, respectively. Ends of the fins 12 a and 12 b on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 26 a, whereas ends on the left side of the drawing are located under the gate structure 21 c.

In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , all the cell-row-terminating cells CE placed at the respective one ends of the cell rows CR do not have the same cell width, and include a plurality of kinds of cell-row-terminating cells CEa and CEb having different cell widths. Consequently, the position of a boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell CE and the next cell is not the same but shifts in the X direction. With this configuration, in a manufacturing process, narrow portions of the fins which is to be removed and which are continuously arranged in the Y direction at the boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell CE and the next cell can be substantially prevented from being excessively long. Consequently, process-induced variations in fin shape can be reduced.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the second cell-row-terminating cells CEb each having a cell width that is different from that of the first cell-row-terminating cells CEa may be arranged at every certain number of cell rows (at every five rows, for example). With this configuration, the regularity of the layout increases, and process-induced variations can be further reduced. The second cell-row-terminating cells CEb do not necessarily have to be arranged at regular intervals.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, a semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a plurality of standard cells, at least some of which include nanowire FETs.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a basic structure example of a nanowire FET (also referred to as a gate all around (GAA) structure). The nanowire FET is an FET including thin wires (nanowires) through which current passes. The nanowires are formed of silicon, for example. As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the nanowires are formed above a substrate to extend in the horizontal direction, i.e., in parallel with the substrate, and each have two ends respectively connected to structures serving as a source region and a drain region of the nanowire FET. In the present specification, in the nanowire FET, the structures that are connected to both ends of the nanowires and serve as the source region and the drain region of the nanowire FET are referred to as pads. In FIG. 10 , although a shallow trench isolation (STI) is formed on a silicon substrate, the silicon substrate is exposed under the nanowires (the hatched portions). Although the hatched portions may be covered with a thermally-oxidized film or any other film in practice, FIG. 10 does not illustrate such a film for the sake of simplicity.

The nanowires are surrounded by the gate electrode formed of polysilicon, for example, with an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film interposed therebetween. The pads and the gate electrode are formed on the surface of the substrate. With this structure, all of upper, lateral, and lower portions of channel regions of the nanowires are surrounded by the gate electrode, and an electric field is uniformly applied to the channel regions, thereby allowing the FET to have good switching characteristics.

Although at least portions of the pads connected to the nanowires serve as source/drain regions, portions thereof below the portions connected to the nanowires do not necessarily serve as the source/drain regions. Portions of the nanowires (portions not surrounded by the gate electrode) may serve as the source/drain regions.

In FIG. 10 , two nanowires are arranged in the vertical direction, i.e., a direction perpendicular to the substrate. However, the number of the nanowires arranged in the vertical direction is not limited to two and may be one, three, or more. In FIG. 10 , the upper end of the uppermost nanowire and the upper end of the pad are aligned. However, these upper ends do not need to be aligned; the upper end of the pad may be higher than the upper end of the uppermost nanowire.

As illustrated in FIG. 11 , a buried oxide (BOX) may be formed on the upper face of the substrate, and the nanowire FET may be formed on this BOX.

A layout example of the circuit block of the semiconductor integrated circuit device according to the present embodiment is illustrated in the schematic plan view in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion W of FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 illustrates nanowires 50, pads 60, and gate structures including gates 20 and dummy gates 25 in addition to cell frames (indicated by the broken line). However, other components such as a metal interconnect are not illustrated. In this example, the “dummy gate” refers to a gate that is not formed around the nanowires 50 and does not form any nanowire FETs. C1 to C7 are cells that contribute to the logical function of the circuit block 1. A cell row on the upper side of the drawing includes the cells C1 and C2, and a first cell-row-terminating cell CEa at its end on the right side of the drawing. A cell row at the center of the drawing includes the cells C3 and C4, and a second cell-row-terminating cell CEb at its end on the right side of the drawing. A cell row on the lower side of the drawing includes the cells C5 to C7, and a first cell-row-terminating cell CEa at its end on the right side of the drawing.

In FIG. 5 , the nanowires 50 are arranged to extend in the X direction with the pads 60 provided on both sides thereof. The gates 20 and the dummy gates 25 are arranged to extend in the Y direction. The nanowires 50 and the gate 20 formed around the nanowires 50 form a nanowire FET. In each of the cell rows, AP is a P-type transistor area, whereas AN is an N-type transistor area. An upper portion of each of the first and third cell rows from the top is the P-type transistor area AP, whereas a lower portion thereof is the N-type transistor area AN. A lower portion of the second cell row from the top is the P-type transistor area AP, whereas an upper portion thereof is the N-type transistor area AN. In each of the P-type transistor area AP and the N-type transistor area AN, sets of eight of the nanowires 50 (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) are obtained, and the eight nanowires 50 are arranged side by side. The dummy gates 25 are arranged at the cell ends. The gate structures including the gates 20 and the dummy gates 25 are arranged at a uniform pitch P. The cell width of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa is P×3, whereas the cell width of the second cell-row-terminating cell CEb is P×4.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a configuration example of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. FIG. 6A is a plan view of a layout configuration thereof; and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIb-VIb shown in FIG. 6A. CF is a cell frame. The P-type transistor area AP includes eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 51 a with pads 61 a formed on both sides thereof. The N-type transistor area AN includes eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 51 b with pads 61 b formed on both sides thereof. Within the cell, the two gate structures 20 a and 20 b are formed, and the gate structures 25 a and 25 b as dummy gates are respectively formed at both cell ends in the X direction.

Here, ends 601 of the pads 61 a on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas ends 602 thereof on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 20 b. In other words, the ends 601 are near the gate structure 25 a and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view, and the ends 602 are near the gate structure 20 b and do not overlap with the gate structure 20 b in a plan view. Similarly, ends 603 of the pads 61 b on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas ends 604 thereof on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 20 b. In other words, the ends 603 are near the gate structure 25 a and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view, and the ends 604 are near the gate structure 20 b and do not overlap with the gate structure 20 b in a plan view. The first cell-row-terminating cell CEa is placed at the end of the cell row CR on the right side of the drawing as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the left side of the drawing corresponds to the inner side of the circuit block 1, whereas the right side of the drawing corresponds to the outer side of the circuit block 1.

The second cell-row-terminating cell CEb has a larger cell width by one pitch P between the gate structures than the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. However, its basic configuration is similar to that in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

Referring back to FIG. 5 , in the cell row on the upper side of the drawing, the cell C2 is adjacent to the first cell-row-terminating cell CE on the left side of the drawing. The cell C2 includes a plurality of (eight in this example) nanowires 55 a extending in the X direction and a plurality of pads 65 a connected to the nanowires 55 a in the P-type transistor area AP. The pads 65 a face the respective pads 61 a of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. The distances between the pads 65 a and the facing pads 61 a are equal. The cell C2 includes a plurality of (eight in this example) nanowires 55 b extending in the X direction and a plurality of pads 65 b connected to the nanowires 55 b in the N-type transistor area AN. The pads 65 b face the respective pads 61 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa. The distances between the pads 65 b and the facing pads 61 b are equal. The same applies to the relation between the cell C4 and the second cell-row-terminating cell CEb in the cell row at the center of the drawing and the relation between the cell C7 and the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa in the cell row on the lower side of the drawing.

Using the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 can provide the following effect. Specifically, the ends 601 of the pads 61 a and the ends 603 of the pads 61 b of the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa on the inner side of the circuit block 1 are near the gate structure 25 a placed at the cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure 25 a in a plan view. With this configuration, the first cell-row-terminating cell CEa can be placed adjacent to the next cell C2 without having excessive space relative thereto, and the area of the circuit block 1 can thus be reduced to a lower degree.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell and illustrate the configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell placed at the end of the cell row CR on the left side of the drawing. In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the left side of the drawing corresponds to the outer side of the circuit block 1, whereas the right side of the drawing corresponds to the inner side of the circuit block 1.

The configuration in FIG. 7A corresponds to a mirror image of the configuration in FIG. 6A. In other words, the P-type transistor area AP includes the eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 51 a with the pads 61 a formed on both sides thereof. The N-type transistor area AN includes the eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 51 b with the pads 61 b formed on both sides thereof. Within the cell, the two gate structures 20 a and 20 b are formed, and the gate structures 25 a and 25 b are formed at both cell ends in the X direction, respectively. The ends of the pads 61 a and 61 b on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 25 a, whereas the ends on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 20 b.

The configuration in FIG. 7B is obtained by increasing the cell width of the configuration in FIG. 7A by one pitch P between the gate structures. In other words, the P-type transistor area AP includes eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 52 a with pads 62 a formed on both sides thereof. The N-type transistor area AN includes eight (four in a plan view and two in the vertical direction) nanowires 52 b with pads 62 b formed on both sides thereof. Within the cell, the three gate structures 21 a, 21 b, and 21 c are formed, and the gate structures 26 a and 26 b are formed at both cell ends in the X direction, respectively. The ends of the pads 62 a and 62 b on the right side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 26 a, whereas the ends on the left side of the drawing are located in front of the gate structure 21 c.

In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , all the cell-row-terminating cells CE placed at the respective one ends of the cell rows CR do not have the same cell width, and include a plurality of kinds of cell-row-terminating cells CEa and CEb having different cell widths. Consequently, the position of a boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell CE and the next cell is not the same but shifts in the X direction. With this configuration, in a manufacturing process, narrow portions with no nanowire that are continuously arranged in the Y direction at the boundary between the cell-row-terminating cell CE and the next cell can be substantially prevented from being excessively long. Consequently, process-induced variations in nanowire FETs can be reduced.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the second cell-row-terminating cells CEb each having a cell width that is different from that of the first cell-row-terminating cells CEa may be arranged at every certain number of cell rows (at every five rows, for example). With this configuration, the regularity of the layout increases, and process-induced variations can be further reduced. The second cell-row-terminating cells CEb do not necessarily have to be arranged at regular intervals.

In the first and second embodiments, two kinds of cells having cell widths that are respectively three times and four times the pitch P between the gate structures are used as the cell-row-terminating cells CE. However, this is merely an example of the present disclosure. Three or more kinds of cell-row-terminating cells having different cell widths may be used, or a cell-row-terminating cell having a cell width other than three times and four times the pitch P between the gate structures may be used, for example.

The internal configurations of the cell-row-terminating cells CE are not limited to those described in the first and second embodiments. FIGS. 8A and 8B are plan views of other examples of the layout configuration of the cell-row-terminating cell of the first embodiment, for example. While, in the configuration in FIG. 8A, the cell width is four times the pitch P between the gate structures, fins 13 a and 13 b are short, and the ends of the fins 13 a and 13 b on the right side of the drawing (the outer side of the circuit block) is located under a gate structure 21 b at the center. While, in the configuration in FIG. 8B, the cell width is three times the pitch P between the gate structures, fins 14 a and 14 b are long, and the ends of the fins 14 a and 14 b on the right side of the drawing (the outer side of the circuit block) are under the gate structure 25 b at a cell end and overlap with the gate structure 25 b in a plan view.

In the first and second embodiments, in the circuit block 1, the cell rows CR each include the cell-row-terminating cells CE at respective ends thereof. However, this is merely an example of the present disclosure. Only one end portion of each cell row CR may include the cell-row-terminating cell CE, or some of the cell rows CR do not necessarily have to include any cell-row-terminating cells CE, for example. In other words, at least one of the cell rows CR may include, at at least one end thereof, the cell-row-terminating cell CE described above.

In the first and second embodiments, the circuit block 1 has a rectangular outer shape, and while first ends of the cell rows CR in the X direction are aligned, second ends of the cell rows CR in the X direction are aligned. However, this is merely an example of the present disclosure. The circuit block may be L-shaped, for example. In this case, the circuit block may include a rectangular area including a plurality of cell rows each having a first end and a second end, the first ends of the cell rows in the first direction being aligned, the second ends of the cell rows in the first direction being aligned. One end portion of each of the cell rows in this rectangular area may include a plurality of kinds of cell-row-terminating cells having different cell widths. With this configuration, process-induced variations in fin shape or nanowire FETs can be reduced just like the first and second embodiments. In the first and second embodiments, the entire circuit block 1 corresponds to this rectangular area.

On the side of the circuit block 1 on which the cell-row-terminating cells CE are arranged, another circuit block may be adjacent to the circuit block 1. In this case, cell-row-terminating cells are preferably arranged at an end of the other circuit block as well.

The present disclosure can stabilize transistor characteristics while reducing process-induced variations at cell row ends of a circuit block in a semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors or nanowire FETs. Thus, the present disclosure is useful for improving the performance of the semiconductor integrated circuit device. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising a circuit block including a cell row having a plurality of cells arranged in a first direction, wherein the cell row includes: a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of the circuit block disposed at a first end of the cell row, and a first cell that is adjacent to the cell-row terminating cell in the first direction; and the cell-row-terminating cell includes: a plurality of nanowires extending in the first direction, a plurality of pads connected to the plurality of nanowires of the cell-row terminating cell, and a plurality of gate structures extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, including a first gate structure placed at a cell end on an inner side of the circuit block, and a second gate structure adjacent to the first gate structure in the first direction; and the first cell includes: a plurality of nanowires extending in the first direction, a plurality of pads connected to the plurality of nanowires of the first cell and facing the plurality of pads of the cell-row-terminating cell, and a third gate structure adjacent to the first gate structure in the first direction.
 2. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pads of the cell-row-terminating cell are located between the first gate structure and the second gate structure, and the plurality of pads of the first cell are located between the first gate structure and the third gate structure.
 3. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein end of the plurality of pads of the cell-row-terminating cell on the inner side of the circuit block do not overlap with the first gate structure in a plan view.
 4. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 3, wherein end of the plurality of pads of the first cell on the outer side of the circuit block do not overlap with the first gate structure in a plan view.
 5. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein the first cell contributes to the logical function of the circuit block.
 6. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein the third, first and second gate structures are arranged at a uniform pitch.
 7. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein the first gate structure is a dummy gate.
 8. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein the cell-row-terminating cell further includes a fourth gate structure placed at a cell end on an outer side of the circuit block.
 9. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 8, wherein the fourth gate structure is a dummy gate. 